Your Google TV just got a useful feature upgrade for free, and smart home users will love it

Older Google TV and Chromecast devices are finally getting the Home Panel feature, allowing you to control your smart home devices from your TV. The feature was initially launched with the Google TV Streamer last year, but Google opened a public preview program to let users enroll older devices. Now, the feature appears to have launched widely and quietly. 

The latest update began rolling out earlier this week, and reports indicate users are using the Home Panel feature on discontinued Chromecast devices and Google TV sets, including Hisense TVs.

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The Home Panel on Google TV lets you control Google Home-compatible smart devices by accessing them on the right side of your TV. These devices include smart thermostats, video doorbells, security cameras, speakers, smart lights, and more. Like Apple's tvOS and Amazon's FireOS ...